G20 Finance portfolio holders have also agreed to increase the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) resources by $ 650,000 million so that it can better help vulnerable countries deal with the effects of the pandemic, the Italian minister said. the economy. , Daniele Franco, at the press conference after the second virtual meeting.
They agreed on the need to maintain stimulus plans to promote post-pandemic recovery and that their early withdrawal would slow this process as they discussed the possibility of imposing a global corporate tax, although this issue will continue at their meeting table. in Venice (Italy) in July.
“We note the progress made by the Debt Relief Initiative to facilitate the increased costs of the pandemic (…) In light of the persistence of significant liquidity needs related to COVID-19, we agree to its final extension. for six months until the end of December 2021, “they said, according to an official statement.
Appeal to the private sector and the IMF
Ministers and central bank governors also reiterated their call for the private sector to join “comparable terms”.
“This final extension will allow beneficiary countries to mobilize more resources to meet the challenges of the crisis and, where appropriate, to take a more structured approach to tackling debt vulnerability, including through a higher quality tranche supported by The IMF, “the statement said.
They said that it was necessary to strengthen their “support for vulnerable countries when dealing with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic”, and in this regard called on the IMF to “present a comprehensive proposal for a new US $ 650 billion total allocation of special drawing rights (SDRs), “which would improve global liquidity and support global recovery.
“We also invite the IMF to submit proposals to improve transparency and accountability in the use of SDRs, while maintaining the SDRs’ reserve assets,” the statement said.
“At the same time, we want the IMF to explore the possibilities for members to voluntarily target SDRs to vulnerable countries without slowing down the redistribution process,” he added.
rml (efe, afp)